I don't need the icons, but the color theme editor certainly makes it possible to work with VS2012 without getting eye cancer.

THANKS Matthew for this extension!

I agree that the UI is ugly. Although this is subjective, MS won't listen when they made a wrong decision objectively. Best example: quick launch. They kicked it, saying that the new start menu pinning is much better. But is it? Turns out the pinning doesn't allow to tack stuff like my MSDN documentation onto the task bar. A post I wrote in the respective blog so proudly announcing the new start menu back in the day was simply censored. Way to go!